Unlearn-Rethink

Not only is this common adage laughingly simplistic and misguided, but it is ill-conceived. “Eat less, move more” should never be recommended as a method for weight loss, but rather, recognized as the result of a well executed lifestyle change.

This flawed mantra has been parroted by doctors, nutritionists and fitness trainers for nearly 50 years as if it were nothing short of common sense. But yet our nations obesity statistics have continued to climb for the past 50 years. The notion that weight loss is as simple as “eating less and moving more” is just shy of offensive to someone who struggles with obesity.  Would you tell  someone who doesn’t know how to swim to “drown less and swim more“?

“Eat less, move more”, given as advice for weight loss, comes with it a condescending undertone of blame. The mere accusation that such a complicated problem can be solved so simplistically is nothing short of reprehensible to a person who has been struggling for years with their weight. Look around you, 2 of every 3 Americans are overweight, 1 out of 3 are obese. If it were really that simple, wouldn’t you think we’d have figured all of this out by now? To a person who’s struggling with obesity, “eat less, move more” is passive-aggressively shaming and counter-productive.

“Eat Less“…  (Calorie Restriction)

Not an effective METHOD for sustainable weight loss

The implication that an overweight person simply eats too much food is a complete falsehood. The old disproven “calories in vs. calories out” model of weight loss simply doesn’t work and does not account for the differing hormonal effects of varying macronutrients. It is much more likely that an overweight person has eaten too much of the wrong kinds of foods and unfortunately, due to misguided nutritional advise given out by most healthcare providers, they don’t even know what the wrong kinds of foods are. It’s also probable that this eating pattern/behavior has gone on over an extended period of time, often decades. Obesity is a slow, degenerative, metabolic process of gradually increasing degrees of insulin resistance. No one just wakes up one day to discover that they are obese. The simplistic “eat less, move more = weight loss” was conceived under the notion that all calories behave the same in our bodies. Meaning that a simple reduction in caloric intake, coupled with an increase in exercise output should result in weight loss. Believers in this naïve philosophy like to parrot the first law of thermodynamics that states “Energy can not be created or destroyed …”

The problem is, there are two parts to this statement. They hang their hat on the first part, and collectively ignore the second: “… it can only be converted from one form to another.” Let’s make this as simple as it was intended to be …

Do you want your fuel to be converted into stored fat, or do you want it to be converted into energy that your body actually uses? Meaning kenetic energy instead of potential energy. That being said, the hormonal theory of weight gain/loss does NOT imply an exception to the first law of thermodynamics, it actually confirms it.

Caloric Reduction as Primary, or C.R.A.P., for short, is a term pinned by Dr. Jason Fung and his Intensive Dietary Management team. The (above) graphic from their website best illustrates the broad-strokes of my point. 

 The subject of Calorie Restriction is an in-depth topic for which entire books have been written.  The following resources provide an extensive, thorough explanation that is complete with references: 

Calories: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 

… “Move More”   (Exercise)

Not an effective METHOD for sustainable weight loss

The implication that an overweight person can reverse their obesity by simply exercising more is also false.

Especially in the context of a low-fat, calorie restrictive (“eat less”) diet. Though the benefits of exercise are numerous and should always be encouraged, weight loss is not amongst those many benefits. Perhaps in the short term, one might experience some success. But long periods of calorie restriction will slow the metabolism, rendering excessive exercise less and less effective towards ones efforts at weight loss. Our bodies are constantly seeking a state of homeostasis. If you deprive your body of the proper* fuel for extended amounts of time, while simultaneously accelerating exercise, the metabolism will slow down to compensate. (This is why 90% of the contestants on “The Biggest Loser” gained most all of their weight back.)

 Here’s another rabbit hole down which you can climb. Linked below are a couple of research studies substantiating the ineffectiveness of exercise as it pertains to weight loss:

Exercise: Study 1, Study 2, Article 1, Article 2

Food vs Exercise as a 50/50 Acquisition:

Not an effective METHOD for sustainable weight loss

So now, in our collective societal wisdom, we have coupled 2 ineffective weightloss methods together in the assumption that when executed simultaneously they will somehow magically become effective? Then, to add insult to irony, we allow the eating of unhealthy foods to be a reward for excessive exercise. In fact, a majority of people still believe that exercise is far more important to the equation of weight loss than it actually is. 

Here are some great quotes from Dr. Jason Fung, Canadian Physician and Author of “The Obesity Code” to better illustrate my point:

“Consider this baseball analogy. Bunting is an important technique, but accounts for only perhaps 5% of the game. The other 95% revolves around hitting, pitching and fielding. So it would be ridiculous to spend 50% of our time practicing the bunt. Or, what if we were facing a test that is 95% math and 5% spelling? Would we spend 50% of our time studying spelling?”

“The benefit of exercise has a natural upper limit. You cannot make up for dietary indiscretions by increasing exercise. You can’t out run a poor diet. Furthermore, more exercise is not always better. Exercise represents a stress on the body. Small amounts are beneficial, but excessive amounts are detrimental.”

“We are writing a final examination called obesity 101. Diet accounts for 95% of the grade and exercise for only 5%. Yet we spend 50% of our time and energy studying exercise. It is no wonder that our current grade is F – for Fat.”

Stop the Madness!    (The Vicious Cycle)

When your diet consists of predominately carbohydrates, a vicious cycle begins. The glucose from carb consumption will quickly set this cycle in motion, as glucose is a very short-lived fuel. The presence of glucose will trigger several hormones into action, and deliver a dopamine reaction to the pleasure centers of your brain. The hormone insulin is released in an effort to lower your blood sugar. Some of the glucose will be used to fuel your body, but the excess will be stored away in your fat cells. This happens relatively quickly and as your blood glucose levels plummet, the hormone ghrelin is released to tell you that you are hungry again. Leptin, the hormone that would normally trigger a feeling of satisfaction and communicate to your body that you are full, is stifled in the presence of excess carbohydrates. Thus, setting in motion a vicious cycle, the broad strokes of which are illustrated here:


Now for the Good News!  (Flip it & Reverse it)

There is an alternate fuel source! … and it’s from a source that your body was designed to use … your own body fat. That’s right, you can train your metabolism to utilize fat as a source of energy.  The notion that eating dietary fat actually equates to “getting fat” is a complete farce. In fact, healthy dietary fats are much more satiating than carbohydrates, and they do not initiate an insulin response that prompts the storage of fat. When you deprive your body of carbohydrates, your liver starts releasing ketone bodies. These ketones are a far more efficient fuel source, they don’t inhibit the hormone leptin, therefore your body feels satiated for longer amounts of time. Intermittent fasting becomes a natural and effortless progression and ultimately “eating less” becomes the result. Fueling your body with ketones increases your metabolism and provides in upwards of 40% more energy than glucose metabolism, thus allowing you to “move more.” 

You can bring this endless cycle of sugar/carb addiction to a screeching halt by simply optimizing your metabolism. Click here to learn more about this process and consider purchasing “The Art and Science of Low-Carb Living” by Drs. Phinney & Volek, which has become the nutritional industry standard for formulating a therapeutic ketogenic diet. 

Weight loss is only a pleasant side effect of this lifestyle change. Beyond the results of “eating less and moving more,” a well formulated ketogenic diet has been proven to be a beneficial therapy for dozens of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, PCOS, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and several auto-immune disorders. For even metabolically heathy individuals, this anti-inflammatory diet change can benefit mental clarity, energy levels and overall wellbeing, stunting elements of the degenerative aging process and staving off future illness. 

For decades, nutritionists, doctors and healthcare providers have been taught that glucose is a necessity for brain function. That is emphatically true. Because of this fact, carbohydrates have been touted for years as a necessary, and vitally important macronutrient. This all seems very logical, until you consider the process of gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis is a natural process in which your body can convert protein into glucose. This process provides more than enough fuel for brain function. That’s right, your brain needs glucose …but you don’t have to eat it! Turns out, dietary carbohydrate consumption is not as important as once thought. 

Dietitians and other health care professionals often mistake the word ketosis for the word ketoacidosis simply because they have the same root word keto. Both words represent metabolic states, but that is all they have in common. Ketosis is a natural metabolic process (described above), while Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a metabolic abnormality that is very dangerous and is usually suffered by type one diabetics that have the inability to produce the hormone insulin. 

I invite you to visit (HERE) to discover the research behind many of the myths surrounding  low carbohydrate lifestyles. 

For the latest videos & articles pertaining to optimal health & ketogenic nutrition, as well as encouragement, advice & great ketogenic/low carb Recipes (updated several times daily). Whether you are Keto, LCHF, Paleo, Atkins, Banting, Low-Carb or Zero Carb … everyone’s welcome in the Facebook Group: WELCOME TO KETO COUNTRY